1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for removing caps from containers, and in particular, to openers having a handle with a notched end.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous devices exist for opening bottles. Common openers include a metal stamping with one end formed into a cantilevered tab for hooking onto the edge of a bottle cap. A conventional corkscrew may have a helical screw on one end and a crossbar handle on the other end. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 71,316.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,695,098 a bottle opener is in the form of an elongated shell having a hook at one end for grasping the underside of the bottle cap. This device also incorporates a corkscrew that is pivoted about a transverse axis near the center of the shell, to swing the corkscrew between an extended working position and a retracted stored position. This opener has a concave underside that would dig into a user's hand. Also, the hook is integral with the shell so that the shell unnecessarily has the same strength as the hook.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,218,757 shows a bottle opener having a corkscrew at one end, and a hook for removing a bottle cap on the other end. A tube that sheathes the corkscrew can be removed and inserted though a hole at the hooked end to serve as a handle for working the corkscrew. Forming a hole in the hooked end unnecessarily complicates and lengthens the hooked end. See also U.K. Patent Application GB 2091227 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,164,191.
For the corkscrew of U.S. Pat. No. 1,670,199, the conventional T-shaped structure was supplemented with an annular groove, so that the device can also be used to remove a conventional bottle cap. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,994 for another combined corkscrew and bottle cap remover. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,714,409 and 5,285,543.
Another known bottle opener employed a metal tube notched at one end to provide a lip that can be used to remove a bottle cap. A disadvantage with this device is that the lip must be provided by an undercut and the entire device unnecessarily has the same strength as the lip. Also, the device is not easily fabricated.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved opener that is relatively effective and employs an efficient structure.